Judge Approves Wal-Mart Class-Action Case

A federal judge ruled today that a sex discrimination lawsuit against Wal-Mart Stores Inc. could go to trial as a class action, in what would be the largest civil rights case against a private employer in U.S. history.

The suit, which alleges that Wal-Mart created a culture in which women were paid less and received fewer promotions than men, could represent as many as 1.6 million current and former female employees.

U.S. District Court Judge Martin J. Jenkins in San Francisco said his certification of the case as a class action "should not be construed in any manner as a ruling on the merits or the probable outcome of the case." He recognized the plaintiffs' characterization of their motion as "historic in nature" and noted it falls near the 50th anniversary of the groundbreaking racial discrimination case, Brown vs. Board of Education.Wal-Mart said in a statement, "We strongly disagree with his decision and will seek an appeal." The original suit was filed in June 2001 by six current and former employees. The judge ruled that those six women can represent all female employees of Wal-Mart who worked at the retailer anytime since Dec. 26, 1998.

A statistician hired by the plaintiffs to bolster the case found that on average, it took women 4.38 years from the date of hire to be promoted to assistant manager, while it took men 2.86 years. It took 10.12 years for women to reach store manager, compared with 8.64 years for men.

In his 84-page ruling, the judge noted that Wal-Mart claimed the difference is due to differing job aspirations and interests between men and women that exist in the general labor force and can't be blamed on the company, the nation's largest retailer and largest private employer.

"This decision means instead of facing six individual women with claims, Wal-Mart faces the claims of 1.6 million women," Brad Seligman, executive director of the Impact Fund and lead counsel for the women, said. "It changes the world."